JESUS and the Law of Atonement (Lev.16)

The LORD gives Moses a "few" laws concerning sacrifices, how to stay healthy, and eating right (for that day and age, because we know later, in the book of Acts, God lets Peter know that "now" all things are clean to eat).  Then the LORD talks to Moses about atonement and His appearing...

(Leviticus 16:2)  The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the [mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat..." 

Jesus of the Old Testament continues to explain what they will do every year on this Day of Atonement, which includes sacrifices, as well as sending a scapegoat out into the wilderness.  Part of the ceremony is taking two goats, and depending on how the lot is cast, one goat is to be sacrificed and the other is to become the scapegoat.

(Leviticus 16:20-22)  "When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.  22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness..."

This could be a visual to the Israelites to demonstrate several things.  Part of this ordinance could represent the transference of sin.  But the initial step was to sacrifice the first goat, just as Jesus sacrificed His life to pay for sin.  This had to occur first.  Without the death, there cannot be salvation.

(1 Peter 2:24)  And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Likewise, without Jesus taking on all our sins, our sins would not have been paid.  So with the scapegoat - there COULD be two different visuals about the transference of sin... Just like Aaron was to confess all the sins to the second goat before sending it out into the wilderness - Jesus took on all our sins and went to hell (in death) to pay for sin.

(Acts 2:30)  And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,  31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.   32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.  

 And just a side-note, PERHAPS sending the scapegoat out into the wilderness ALIVE was also a visual of how Christ would rise again.

Now there could be another visual of the transference of sin.  Just like the scapegoat "hears" the confessions of sins then runs out into the wilderness - we confess our sins to God when we become Christians, then God forgives us and chooses to remember them no more.

(Hebrews 8:12)  "...I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

And just like it requires humility to become a Christian (to find everlasting atonement for our sins), the Israelites were required to humble their souls for this Day of Atonement ceremony...

(Leviticus 16:29-30)  "This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; 30 for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord."
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Again, the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was only a temporary "fix"... more of a symbol... a visual and physical reminder;  and interestingly the different steps in the Day of Atonement ceremony paralleled the steps needed for salvation.  There was the sacrifice (Jesus' work on the cross).  The people were to humble themselves (since pride is determined to do things our own way, humility is required to realize our need to do things God's way).  There was the confessing of sins (we need to confess our sins).  And then there is the "release" of the scapegoat/sins (we are forgiven and God remembers our sins no more).

(Romans 6:8-11)  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.